Public Statements

Statement

Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) issued the following statement on the Democrats' unconstitutional bill designed to silence their political opponents:

"The First Amendment says "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech.' It's first for a reason. Freedom of speech is the basis of our democracy. The purpose of this bill, plain and simple, is to allow Democrats to use their Majority in this House to silence their political opponents. This is a backroom deal to shred our Constitution for raw, ugly, partisan gain.

"With this misguided bill, Democrats would restrict free speech and violate the First Amendment. But not for everyone. This bill would muzzle small businesses but protect labor unions. It allows the Humane Society to speak freely, but not the Farm Bureau. It would protect the AARP's rights, but not 60-Plus. And lastly it would protect the National Rifle Association but not the National Right to Life. The NRA is carved out and gets a special deal in this bill. The NRA is all about protecting the Second Amendment, but apparently its leaders don't care about protecting the First Amendment. That's very disappointing.

"Since the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the First Amendment, Democrats have maintained their bill would "apply equally across the board' to corporations, labor unions and advocacy organizations alike. Instead, they produced a bill full of loopholes designed to help their friends while silencing their political opponents. We in this House take an oath to "preserve, protect, and defend our Constitution.' A vote for this bill violates that oath."